69 sexy songs to get you in the mood

Valentine's Day has never been hotter

69 sexy songs to get you in the mood

Today, men and women across the world will be making a concerted effort to get their rocks off.

Some will proffer flowers and cards, others will treat their beloved to expensive meals, shower them with jewelery or simply send a saucy email pointing out the romantic potential of the office stationary cupboard. It's a day for expressing your feelings, even if that's via an anonymous card.

Here at MusicRadar, we like to encourage this sort of thing. We're lovers, not haters. So, in order to get you in the mood we've selected 69 of the sexiest songs we could think of, from sultry soul to raunchy rock and roll and everything in between*.

Click through for our selection of some of the hottest, most seductive and downright rudest records, and prepare yourself for a Valentine's Day to remember.

*But no Barry White. Never Barry White - you'll thank us in the long run.

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Bob Marley - Turn Your Lights Down Low

Probably the sexiest slice of reggae ever committed to tape, this steamy little number popped up on 1977 masterpiece Exodus following the achingly beautiful Waiting In Vain, all its "good good loving" coming on like a reward for the poor sap who didn't want to do all that waiting.

Bonus version - 'a more socially responsible version'

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac - Need Your Love So Bad

Fleetwood Mac's earliest incarnation were always fond of a close-to-the-knuckle schoolboy gag, from Mick Fleetwood's pair of wooden balls (not a euphemism) to hilariously suggestive songs like Rattlesnake Shake. On Need Your Love So Bad though, the jokes were replaced by desperation as Peter Green's aching guitar petitioned somebody, anybody, to get up close and personal.

Al Green - Let's Stay Together

If Al Green's voice doesn't make you want to hop on the good foot and do the bad thing, it's entirely possible that there's something quite serious wrong with you. Let's Stay Together, quite apart from being one of the greatest soul songs of all time, is brilliant for any number of reasons, but one we particularly like is the proposition implicit in the song's title: let's stay together... and get down to it, baby. Oh yeah.

Faces - Stay With Me

It's when the break-neck intro slows down that Stay With Me turns into something altogether deeper and dirtier. Rod Stewart's vocals have rarely sounded as charged as he lets his latest conquest - all "red lips, hair and fingernails" know that all he's after is the good stuff - and nothing else.

Otis Redding - These Arms Of Mine

Precision engineered to melt hearts

A towering performance from one of the greatest singers ever to have picked up a microphone, These Arms Of Mine packs more raw heartache and intensity into two minutes and thirty five seconds than most artists can manage in an entire career.

Prince - Adore

In which Prince promises to be there for that special someone until the end of time. Given that time is infinite and life is short we’re not sure how he’s planning on keeping that promise, but you’ve got to admire the sentiment.

Lewis Taylor - Damn

Taylor remains a man of mystery

Pearls like this one demonstrate why Lewis Taylor is one of British music’s great lost talents. With a shape-shifting chord progression, glorious harmonies and even a cheeky homage to the opening guitar lick from Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On, it’s a lament to a love never wanted.

Portishead - Glory Box

Fans of the euphemism can have plenty of fun with the title of this one (we’ll thank you to take your minds out of the gutter), but the sultry string sample and squalling guitar indicate all kinds of pre-coital tension. Probably.

Silk - Freak Me

These men will lick you in places you never knew you wanted lickin'

‘Freak me baby’ - whatever can he mean? This slice of Silk slickness might be awash with the classic ‘80s DX7 piano sound so beloved among balladeers, but the lyrics leave far less to the imagination than your typical pop smoocher. Just to confirm: he wants to lick you up and down.

INXS - Need You Tonight

Offering an iconic chugging guitar riff, a breathy vocal, an award-winning video and - above all - Michael Hutchence at his most charismatic, Need You Tonight seems to roll more than it rocks. And that, lest you were wondering, is a good thing.

D'Angelo - Untitled (How Does It Feel)

Proving that neo soul really did have soul, this tribute to Prince bears many of the hallmarks of the Purple One’s finest ballads. It is, to put it bluntly, baby-making music; in fact, the video convinced many female viewers that they’d like to be making babies with D’Angelo himself.

Madonna – Like A Virgin

As you may be aware, Madonna has touched on the subject of sex various times during her career, but she made her name by going back to the very first time. We’re still not sure what that lion’s doing in the video, though.

Goldfrapp - Ooh La La

When the French use this phrase it can be used to express everything from surprise to disappointment or distress, but we reckon we know what Alison Goldfrapp is referring to here. Full marks for making the sound of ‘70s glam-pop not only fashionable, but also sexy.

Jimi Hendrix - Foxy Lady

Foxy Lady is Jimi Hendrix's appetite for the ladies given song form. The Jimi of Foxy Lady will not be stopped from getting what he wants, which in this case is a lady hot enough to make him growl like a wild animal.

Led Zeppelin - Since I've Been Loving You

Since I've Been Loving You is total Led Zep seduction. The opening licks of Jimmy Page's guitar deftly undo the flies of everyone listening as Robert Plant whispers in their ears with a voice dripping with depravity. Filth.

The Cure - Close To Me

If Robert Smith's breathy, borderline obscene vocals aren't enough to clue you in to what's going on here, then there may be no hope for you. Suffice to say, a bloke in lipstick has never made the prospect of a bit of good old fashioned rumpy-pumpy seem so close at hand.

Derek And The Dominos - Layla

We all know the story behind Layla, but the force of the song is never quite diluted, no matter how many classic rock compilations it finds its way onto. Because, at its core, Layla is a song about a man almost driven insane by a woman, and if that's not love, then we don't know what is.

Chris Isaak - Wicked Game

This man is wicked. Honest.

The judicious application of tremelo and a vocal that ebbs and flows from throaty suggestiveness all the way up to lightheaded falsetto is enough to make Wicked Game an essential addition to any making out mix. Having Helena Christensen in the video doesn't hurt its case either.

Band Of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You

Ben Bridwell may look like a homeless man, but he has the voice of a heartbroken angel, which means he can dress however he damn well pleases. No One's Gonna Love You's delay drenched balladry is pretty much guaranteed to ensure the object of your affection is in your arms by the time it's finished.

T-Rex - Get It On

Marc Bolan could sing the dictionary and make it sound dirty, and On Get It On he's let off the leash to deliver a masterclass in nudge-nudge, wink-wink filth to a hip-swinging slice of peerless glam rock.

Boys II Men - I'll Make Love To You

As Boyz II Men prove with their 1994 classic, while it can be fun to flirtatiously skirt around the issue with delicate innuendo, few things are as genuinely sexy as directly and succinctly outlining one’s proposed sexual intentions in as straightforward a manner as possible. Particularly if one happens to be wearing an immaculate white suit at the time.

Donna Summer - Love To Love You Baby

With its vintage wah-heavy guitar part, sex noise backing vocals and grinding funk bassline, the single version Donna Summer’s disco classic is already pretty damn sexy. By comparison, however, the original 17-minute disco version is utter filth.

R Kelly - My Body's Calling You

For better or worse, R Kelly is pretty much the most sexually driven man in pop music. Sure, he can go a little off-piste with his romantic sentiments at times, but when he’s on the money nobody can do sexy like Rob does.

Massive Attack - Teardrop

The sex appeal of Teardrop was almost ruined by Gary Barlow et al’s painful charity mangling in 2011. Fortunately, the song’s Dr House associations sufficiently re-ignite our fire. Read into that what you will.

Kelly Rowland - Motivation

As slow jams about sex go, Motivation would be up there with the best of recent times on the strength of Kelly Rowland’s vocals alone. But it’s Lil Wayne’s rainforest metaphor midway through that really tips it over the indecent edge for us.

Van Morrisson - Into The Mystic

When you've got a set of pipes like Van Morrisson, it almost doesn't even matter what you're singing. Into The Mystic has its fair of hippy nonsense in the lyrics, but that melody will have your pants on the bedroom floor before you can light a joss stick.

The Doors - Touch Me

Jim Morrison wasn't the sort of chap to beat around the proverbial bush, and if he wanted you to touch him, he wasn't shy about hollering it at you as loud as he possibly could. It's a tactic we heartily endorse.

Sam Cooke - Bring It On Home

If you had one night to live, and one chance to score, and you needed one voice to facilitate that last hurried liaison, we'd suggest you get some Sam Cooke on your sound system. He won't let you down.

The Ronettes - Be My Baby

We defy any prospective suitor who plays this song to his intended not to succeed. There's something written in the DNA of The Ronettes that is physically impossible to resist - trust us, we've tested this with science.

The Divinyls - I Touch Myself

The most blatant hymn to having a bit of "quality time" to yourself ever recorded, I Touch Myself also works as a handy instruction manual for what to do should you find yourself alone on Valentines day.

Roxy Music - Love Is The Drug

A product of a simpler time, when sex addiction was something to be celebrated by louche ladykillers like Bryan Ferry and not a cause for concern, Love Is The Drug is so good it makes singles bars sound appealing.

Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons - Beggin'

Frankie Valli's famous falsetto might not be the obvious contender for a truly sexy vocal, but there's so much unbridled passion in Beggin' that you'd have to have the heart of stone not to react to it.

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Ooh Baby Baby

By the end of Ooh Baby Baby, we've frequently found ourselves undressed and ready for action, only to realise once again that the office is not a suitable place for this sort of thing. Such is the power of Smokey Robinson.

Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On

There has simply never been a sexier song written or performed than Let's Get It On. The only possible alternative, in fact, is another Marvin Gaye song (Sexual Healing, obviously), but Let's Get It On wins for the sheer majesty of the thing. Magnificent.